About Us

History

The Weingarten Story

A classic American tale of determination, hard work, innovation and ultimately, success.

The Weingarten story begins in 1854 with the birth of Harris Weingarten, a poor villager from a small community in Poland. Seeking new opportunities in America in the 1880s, he eventually settled in the Houston area where he opened a dry goods store. Joined by his family, Harris, his wife Beile and their children survived the ups and downs of the young town’s economy, prospered from their hard work and were recognized for their many pioneering contributions to the supermarket industry.

In 1948 under the leadership of Harris’ eldest Joe, the family founded a real estate enterprise—known as Weingarten Markets Realty—that initially built the family’s grocery stores and then expanded to developing shopping centers. In 1980, the family exited the supermarket industry and the realty company, headed by Stanford Alexander, one of Harris’ grandsons, focused on its relationships with retailers, including other supermarkets, drug stores, value-oriented stores and others.

Following its restructuring as a real estate investment trust (REIT), Weingarten became a publicly-held company in August 1985 and was listed as “WRI” on the New York Stock Exchange.

WRI continues to build upon its solid history of integrity, entrepreneurial spirit and commitment to its shareholders, employees and the community. CEO Drew Alexander, Stanford’s son, represents the third member of the Weingarten family to lead the Company. Today, Weingarten’s portfolio spans the southern half of the U.S. from coast to coast. Going forward, we look forward to the opportunities and challenges ahead of us—just like young Harris Weingarten more than a century ago.